On the same day a number of Donald Trump supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol and committed acts of terrorism in the name of the 45th President of the United States…
… Congress went ahead and certified the next President of the United States.
At long last.
Lawmakers gathered in their respective chambers on Wednesday evening, making Joe Biden’s 306 electoral votes from the November general election offiicial.
This is a process that takes place every four years, yet is rarely covered in any fashion by the media because it is mostly ceremonial.
It’s just a formality.
However, this time was very different because 11 Republican Senators claimed they were going to object to the election outcome — while Trump openly pressured Vice President Mike Pence, who presided over the gathering, to help overturn the will of the American People.
In the end, “only” seven Senators took this dangerous stance in the wake of an unprecedented, violent and anti-Democratic attack against the Capitol hours earlier.
As you must have read about by now, hundreds of Trump backers overran police and entered this government building just after 2 p.m. yesterday.
One woman was killed in the attempted coup, while gunshots rang out on more than one occasion and the Capitol was locked down as politicians hid under chairs.
Trump effectively cheered on the chaos and the perpetrators.
Earlier in the day, he had encouraged his base not never accept the results of the supposedly fraudulent Presidential election.
While these supporters were storming the Capitol, the President referred to these same people as “special” and said he totally understood their concerns.
Trump weakly told them to “go home,” yes, but he did so in such a tepid manner that Twitter and Facebook have both locked his accounts.
Both companies believe the President is simply inciting violence and issuing statements of terrorist propaganda at this point.
Facebook’s “vice president of integrity,” Guy Rosen, Tweeted the following in response to the decision:
“This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump’s video.
“We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.”
In light of his punishment, Trump is unable to Tweet at the moment.
Through a spokesperson, however, the Commander-in-Chief actually conceded very early on Thursday morning.
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” he said.
“I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted.
“While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again.”
It’s only the beginning.
What a frightening concept after the events of Wednesday afternoon.
“President Trump, step up,” Joe Biden said during a several-minute televised address from Wilmington, Delaware as the Capitol attack continued to play out.
“At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times,” the next President continued.
Biden went on his in speech, saying this is:
“An assault in the citadel of liberty, the capital itself. … An assault on the people’s representatives and the Capitol Hill Police sworn to protect them.
“An assault on the rule of law like few times we’ve ever seen it.
“An assault on the most sacred of American undertakings, the doing of people’s business.”
Biden pleaded with President Trump to “go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege,” saying, “It must end now.”
He added:
“Let me be very clear, the scenes at the Capitol do not reflect the true America.
“What we’re seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent, it’s chaos.”
We’re seeing it being actively encouraged by the President, too.
In his speech on Wednesday, Biden also said that America is “about honor, decency, respect, tolerance. That’s who we are. That’s who we’ve always been.
“The certification of the Electoral College vote is supposed to be a sacred ritual.”
He concluded as follows:
“Today’s a reminder, a painful one, democracy is fragile.
“To preserve it requires people of good will, leaders with the courage to stand up, who are devoted not to the pursuit of power or personal interests, but of the common good.
“America is so much better than what we’ve seen today.”